Carriage mounted swiveling toy crane with bolt for preventing swiveling

ABSTRACT

A carriage has a boom mounted on a turntable. The boom, bucket and turntable are all operable by foot and hand controls mounted on a common pedestal so that the bucket can be activated, the boom can be raised and lowered, and the turntable can be rotated and locked.

United States Patent Inventor Cyril Gazdarica General Delivery, Tilley, Alberta, Canada 857,878

Sept. 15, 1969 July 20, 1971 Appl. No. Filed Patented CARRIAGE MOUNTED SWIVELING TOY CRANE WITH BOLT FOR PREVENTING SWWELING 4 Claims, 7 Drawing Figs.

U.S. Cl 214/92, 46/40 Int. Cl B66b 17/00 Field of Search 46/40;

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,632,329 6/1927 Hake 212/59 2,192,807 3/1940 Strom.... 46/40 2,34 ,838 2/1944 Bager 37/116 2,966,752 l/1961 Wampach 37/116 3,104,015 9/1963 Goldfarb 46/40 X 3,176,862 4/1965 Walters et 211. 46/40 X 3,358,850 12/1967 Neils 46/40 X Primary ExaminerF. Barry Shay Alt0mey-Kent & Ade

ABSTRACT: A carriage has a boom mounted on a turntable. The boom, bucket and turntable are all operable by foot and hand controls mounted on a common pedestal so that the bucket can be activated, the boom can be raised and lowered, and the turntable can be rotated and locked.

PATENTED JUL 20 an I i l5: vw r 2b m 0 mm 92 -Nm mT y mn mm mm m -=CARR1AGE MOUNTED SWIVELING TOY CRANE WITH BOLT FOR PREVENTING SWIVELING My invention relates to new and useful improvements in toy cranes and this application constitutes a Continuation'in-Part of application Ser. No. 758,72l filed Sept. 10, 1968. The primary object of my invention is to-provide a toy crane which, although juvenile. in size, and actuabl'e by hand and foot power, simulates the operation and appearance of a conventicnal engine-powered crane.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a toy crane having a control house or cab upon which a child can sit and manipulate the crane by turning handcranks and foot pedals so as to actually load, move and dump sand or other material in a manner simulating the action of a full-sized commercial crane. s

With the foregoing in view, and such other or further purposes, advantages or novel features as may become apparent from consideration of this disclosure and specification, the present invention consists of, and is hereby claimed to reside in, the inventive concept which is comprised, embodied, embraced, vor included in the method, rocess, construction, composition, arrangement or combination of parts, or new use of any of the foregoing, of which concept, one or more specific embodiments of same are herein exemplified as illustrative only of such concept, reference being had to the accompanying Figures in'which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of my toy crane mounted on a crawler'type carriage.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary view in side elevation of a modified form of toy crane mounted on a wagon-type carriage.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary verticalview of a hand and foot actuable windlass assemblage, taken substantially on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary isometric view showing the detachas ble connection of the pullinghandle. FIG. 5 is a fragmentary isometric view of the arcuate ramp. FIG. 6 is a fragmentary side elevation showing the locking and unlocking platformagainst rotation.

FIG. 7 is a partial fragmentary plan view showing the upper end of the gantry. s

In the drawings like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.

Proceeding therefore to describe the invention, the

drawings show, for the purpose of illustration, a preferred fonn and a modified form of the invention.

Dealing firstwith the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6, reference character 10 illustrates generally the toy crane in FIG. 1 which includes a carriage 11 which may be of the crawler or endless tread type inasmuch as it includes wheels 12 and 13 being rotatably mounted on parallel-transversely situated axles 14 and 15 respectively at opposite ends of a chassis or frame 16.

An endless belt or track shown in phantom by reference character 17 extends around wheels 12 and 13 and intermediate idler wheels 18 are rotatably mounted upon transverse axles 19 also supported by the chassis or frame 11.

l A pulling handle'20 is detachably securable to the front end 21 of the carriage and details of this detachable connection are shown in FIG. 4. A transverse bearing or pipe 22 is secured to the inner end 23-on the pulling handle and is adapted to be situated between a pair of similar transverse bearing pipes 24 secured in spaced relation to the front side member 25 of the chassis 16.

A bolt 26 engages through the bearing pipes 24 and through the bearing 22 with nut 27 engaging the end thereof thus lockingthe pulling handlein position yet allowing same to rotate in a vertical plane, within limits, around the horizontal axis defined, by the bolt 26. I I

.A frustoconical bearing 28 projects upwardly from chassis or frame 11 and a stationary wheel 29 is secured to this conical bearingt A hub 30 is bearably supported upon the upper end of the conical support 28 and rigidly secured to and rotatable with the hub is a floor 31 of the crane assembly 10.

Secured to and extending upwardly from adjacent the front end 32 of the floor or platform 31 is a bracket collectively designated 33. This bracket includes a pair of spaced and parallel side plates 34 which in turn are secured to a base plate 35. This base plate engages between a pair of opposed channel members 36 secured to the floor or platform 31 and running longitudinally thereof so that the bracket assembly can be moved forwardly or rearwardly within limits, within the channel 36. 6

In this connection a further bracket 37 extends upwardly from the floor or platform 31 and a setscrew assembly 38 engages the bracket 37 andthe bracket. assembly 33 so that rotation of this setscrew assembly moves the bracket 33 forwardly or rearwardly within the slides or channels 36.

A vertically situated wheel 39 is journaled within the bracket assembly 33 upon horizontal spindle 40 and foot engaging cranks 41 are formed as extensions of this spindle 40, being situated one upon each side of the bracket assembly 33. A vertical shaft 42 is journaled for rotation within the floor or platform 31 rearwardly of the hub 30 and a pulley wheel 43 is secured to the upper end of this shaft. An endless motion transmitting line or belt 44 extends around the vertical pulley 39 and around the horizontal pulley 43 as clearly shown.

A friction wheel orgear wheel 45 rotatable around gear 29 is secured to the underside or lower end of the vertical shaft 42 below the floor 31 and is operatively connected with the aforementioned stationary wheel or gear 29 secured to the conical support 28.

Therefore rotation of the cranks 41 by the feet of the operator, will cause the entire platform together with everything mounted thereon to rotate around the bearing hub 30.

Means areprovided to lock or unlock the floor to the chassis and in this connection referenceshould be made to FIGS. 5 and6as wellasFlG. 1.

Situated upon the platform 31 is an arcuately curved ramp block 46 having a down step 47 adjacent the uppermost end 48. A locking bolt 49 is provided with a crank upper end 50, the horizontal portion 51 of which engages the curved ramp 46when same is rotated. The shank of this bolt 49 extends downwardly through the center of the: ramp, through a bearing sleeve 52 secured through the platform 31 and projects below this platform 31. The lowermost end 53 is selectively engageable within one of a plurality of apertures 54 drilled in the stationary wheel 29.

When in the lowermost position shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the lower end 53 of the bolt is engaged within one of the apertures 54 so that the platform 31 cannot be rotated by the cranks 41.

However, by rotating the crank portion 50 of the bolt through approximately it rides up the ramp 46 and drops into the shouldered portion 47. This action withdraws the lower end 53 from the apertures 54 so that the platform can be rotated through 360 by means of the cranks 41. When the desired position is reached, the bolt 49 is raised to clear it from the shoulder 47 and then it is rotated downwardly of the ramp 46 so that the end 53 engages one of the apertures 54. A nut or shoulder 55 is secured to the bolt 49 below the sleeve 52 in order to prevent this bolt from being withdrawn completely from the platform 31.

A boom assembly collectively designated 56 is pivoted by the lower end 57 thereof to adjacent the front of the platform 31 through horizontal pivot pin 58. Various pulleys indicated generally by reference character 59 are journaled freely for rotation upon the upper or outer ends 60 of the boom assembly and these pulleys will be described hereafter.

The boom assembly 56 may be raised or lowered in a vertical plane around the horizontal pivot 58, by means of a boom line 61. One end of this line is attached to a Windlass 62 journaled within the bracket assembly 33 and operated by a handcrank 63. A ratchet assembly or detent 64 is provided in conjunction with this windlass 62.

A gantry assembly collectively designated 65 is situated at the rear of the platform and extends upwardly therefrom, being braced by means of brace 66 upon side panels 64 forming part of the cab unit and extending to the floor 31 and being welded thereto.

The cable 61 extends through a guide pipe 68 situated above the platform 31 and below the operator's seat 69. The cable extends around a pulley 70 journaled adjacent the lower end of the gantry and then extends upwardly as indicated by reference character 61A to extend around a further pulley 71 journaled upon a cross shaft 72 spanning the upper ends of the gantry frame 73.

The cable is then routed from this pulley to one of the pulleys 59A journaled upon the outer end 60 of the boom assembly 56. It then extends back to the gantry to an equalizer assembly 74 consisting ofa pair of pulleys 75 and 76 mounted upon a pair of spaced pipe bushings 77 which in turn are supported upon cross shafts 72. The cable extends around pulley 75, around pulley 76 and then back to a further pulley 593 at the outer end 60 of the boom assembly, around this pulley and back to the gantry being anchored to eye 78 secured to shaft 72. This gives an equalized pull to the boom when it is raised and lowered by rotation of the windlass 62.

The dragline bucket is of the automatic type and is indicated by reference character 79. Mounted adjacent the upper end of the bracket assembly 33 is a bucket hoist windlass 80 operated by a handcrank 81 extending upon one side of the bracket assembly and having a ratchet or detent assembly 82 incorporated therewith. A hoist cable 83 extends from windlass 80, over a sheave or pulley (not illustrated specifically) but illustrated by reference character 59 in the outer end 60 of the boom assembly. This hoist cable extends downwardly and is attached to the bail 84 of the bucket 79.

Also mounted within bracket assembly 33 is a drag windlass 85 operated by a handcrank 86 extending upon the opposite side of bracket assembly 33 to the handcrank 81. A similar ratchet of detent assembly 87' is provided to this windlass 85 A dragline cable 87 extends from windlass 85 to the dragline connection 88 on the bucket. Connected between this point 88 and a pulley 89 on the bale 84, is a cable 90, the other end of cable 90 being anchored to the front end 91 of the bucket 79.

With the operator seated upon seat 69, the feet of the operator can operate cranks or pedals 41 thus controlling the rotation of the platform upon the chassis and the hands of the operator can operate operate windlasses 62, 80 and 85. lt is desirable that the handcranks 81 and 86 for the windlasses 80 and 85 respectively, be on opposite sides of the bracket assembly 33 so that the hoisting of the bucket and the dragline operation thereof can be manipulated simultaneously or independently by the operator as desired.

By hoisting the bucket 79 while leaving the dragline 87 free, the bucket will point downwardly below the boom pulley 59 and some momentum can be imparted to the bucket 79 in order to throw same somewhat beyond the downward projection of the outer end 60 of the boom. The depth of digging is controlled by keeping some tension on the hoist line 83 while reeling in on the dragline 87. As the bucket 79 moves closer to the operative, the tension increases on the trip rope 90 causing the forward end of the bucket 79 to tilt up so that the load does not dump. The dumping operation involves releasing tension by unreeling or playing out the dragline 87 so that the tension on the bucket front connection 88 is reduced thus allowing the bucket to drop and release the sand or other material of the load. In order to rotate the platform 31, the pedals 41 are revolved by either forward or reverse pedaling and this moves the entire assembly through 360 with reference to the chassis 11, either to the left or right depending upon the direction of pedaling.

When operating the dragline, it is necessary that the machine be anchored in order to prevent the load from pulling the dragline towards it rather than vice versa, and in this connection l have provided a brake assembly which consists of brake shoes 92 normally engaging the sides of the front wheels 12 and being held in the braking position by means of a spring loaded lever assembly 93, shown in FlG. 4 and pivotally mounted upon the front end 25 of the chassis. The operating rods represented by arrows 94 extendfrom the end of the lever 93 to the brake shoes 92 and the spring 95 normally maintains the brakes in the on" position.

When it is desired to release the brakes, the lever 93 is rotated by means of the extending portion 96 which may be locked into position by engaging within projections 97 extending upwardly from the mounting plate 98 ofthe lever 93.

It is also desirable to counteract the load of the bucket upon the front end in order to prevent the assembly from tipping and in this connection l provide a counterweight 99 detachably securable upon the rear end of the platform 31 and this counterweight is preferably hollow so that sand or the like 100 can be added or subtracted as desired.

FIG. 2 shows the assembly mounted upon a pull type truck 101 which in turn is supported by rear wheels 102 and steerable front wheels 103.

The operating portions of the device are similar with the exception that the boom 56 is at a fixed angle of inclination and cannot be raised or lowered around a horizontal pivot. The pulling handle 104 mounts the steerable front wheels 103 and the assembly in turn is mounted upon a kingpin 105 depending downwardly from the front end 106 of the chassis 107.

Finally a wire or cable guide loop 108 is provided adjacent the upper windlass 80 in order to prevent the cable from overriding the sides of the windlass.

ln the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, I refer to the chassis 100 as a toy wagon, but, where applicable, similar reference characters have been given to the operative features of the device. The wheel 29 is journaled for rotation on the support 28 and cable 44' extends around this pulley wheel. The boom 56 is secured also to the pulley and is therefore capable of rotation therewith through 360 operated by the cranks 41. However, under normal conditions l prefer to limit the radial movement to somewhat less than 180 divided equally upon each side of the centerline.

These cranks or foot pedals can be used and normally are used to hold the upper apparatus stationary against rotation while hoisting as an alternative to locking same by means of the bolt 49 which is used primarily to lock the assembly during transit, i.e. pulling the toy.

A spike 109 may be secured to the underside of the handle 20 to engage the ground as an anchor when the machine is being operated.

Finally it should be pointed out that the slack in the belt 44 is adjustable by means of the movement of the bracket 33 in the channels 36 by the set screw 33 as hereinbefore described.

Various modifications can be made within the scope of the inventive concept which is herein disclosed and/or claimed.

What I claim as the present invention is:

1. A toy crane including a carriage, a platform on the carriage, a boom having an inner end mounted on the platform and an outer end portion, a bucket having a hoist line connection and a dragline connection, pulleys rotatably mounted on said outer end portion, an upstanding bracket mounted on the platform, and a hoist windlass mounted on the bracket, the improvement which consist of including a hoist line trained over one of said pulleys and attached to said hoist line connection, a drag windlass mounted on the bracket adjacent the hoist windlass and including a dragline attached to said dragline connection, said hoist and drag windlasses each having a handcrank, one located at one side of the bracket and the other handcrank at the other side of the bracket whereby both handcranks may be manipulated at the same time by the right and left hands of an operative, said carriage rigidly supporting an upwardly projecting bearing assembly and a stationary wheel concentric with the bearing assembly, said platform including a hub supporting the platform for rotation on the bearing assembly and a rotatable wheel mounted on said bracket below said drag and hoist windlasses, said rotatable wheel being provided with cranks having pedals on opposite sides of the bracket, and an endless motion transmitting line operatively connecting said wheels, said hub having slidably and rotatably mounted on said platform, a bolt slidable into and out of a socket in the carriage upon disposition of the hub and platform in predetermined orientation relative to the carriage and means to engage and disengage said bolt for causing sliding movement thereof upon rotation of said bolt, said means including an arcuate ramp on said platform, said bolt including a cranked portion engaging said ramp for raising and lowering action of said bolt as same moves around said ramp.

2. A toy crane as defined in claim 1, in which the inner end of said boom is mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal axle, and a boom windlass mounted on the crane, said boom windlass including a boom line connected to the outer end portion of the boom.

3. A toy crane as defined in claim l, in which said bracket has a base mounted in a guideway for sliding movement of said bracket toward and away from said stationary wheel, and a setscrew rotatably mounted on said platform engaging and holding the bracket in any one ofa plurality of positions relative to the guideway for adjustment of said endless motion transmitting line.

4. A toy crane as defined in claim 2, which includes gantry means extending upwardly from said platform. said boom line extending from said boom windlass, around pulley means in said gantry, around pulley means on said outer end portion of said boom, back to further pulley means on said gantry, around further pulley means on said outer end portion of said boom and back to an anchoring point on said gantry. 

1. A toy crane including a carriage, a platform on the carriage, a boom having an inner end mounted on the platform and an outer end portion, a bucket having a hoist line connection and a dragline connection, pulleys rotatably mounted on said outer end portion, an upstanding bracket mounted on the platform, and a hoist windlass mounted on the bracket, the improvement which consist of including a hoist line trained over one of said pulleys and attached to said hoist line connection, a drag windlass mounted on the bracket adjacent the hoist windlass and including a dragline attached to said dragline connection, said hoist and drag windlasses each having a handcrank, one located at one side of the bracket and the other handcrank at the other side of the bracket whereby both handcranks may be manipulated at the same time by the right and left hands of an operative, said carriage rigidly supporting an upwardly projecting bearing assembly and a stationary wheel concentric with the bearing assembly, said platform including a hub supporting the platform for rotation on the bearing assembly and a rotatable wheel mounted on said bracket below said drag and hoist windlasses, said rotatable wheel being provided with cranks having pedals on opposite sides of the bracket, and an endless motion transmitting line operatively connecting said wheels, said hub having slidably and rotatably mounted on said platform, a bolt slidable into and out of a socket in the carriage upon disposition of the hub and platform in predetermined orientation relative to the carriage and means to engage and disengage said bolt for causing sliding movement thereof upon rotation of said bolt, said means including an arcuate ramp on said platform, said bolt including a cranked portion engaging said ramp for raising and lowering action of said bolt as same moves around said ramp.
 2. A toy crane as defined in claim 1, in which the inner end of said boom is mounted for swinging movement about a horizontal axle, and a boom windlass mounted on the crane, said boom windlass including a boom line connected to the outer end portion of the boom.
 3. A toy crane as defined in claim 1, in which said bracket has a base mounted in a guideway for sliding movement of said bracket toward and away from said stationary wheel, and a setscrew rotatably mounted on said platform engaging and holding the bracket in any one of a plurality of positions relative to the guideway for adjustment of said endless motion transmitting line.
 4. A toy crane as defined in claim 2, which includes gantry means extending upwardly from said platform, said boom line extending from said boom windlass, around pulley means in said gantry, around pulley means on said outer end portion of said boom, back to further pulley means on said gantry, around further pulley means on said outer end portion of said boom and back to an anchoring point on said gantry. 